Day 138: Cuenca, Ecuador
While we had planned to go ziplining on my mother’s birthday, Ryan and I were far too hungover to even think about it so it was postponed a day.
My mother did not seem to have any qualms about this as she hadn’t really agreed to go yet. However, I had already booked it so there was no looking back.
23 Food in Ecuador to Try
While it seems that there is a ziplining/canopy tour in every city in Central America, it doesn’t seem to be as prevalent in Ecuador.
In fact, Cuenca Canopy was just outside Cuenca and the only ziplining I had seen since entering South America.
After reviewing the brochure we were starting to look forward to the afternoon.
Mom had been warned to find out how many lines there were as an unlucky friend went on 18 lines in Costa Rica and was exhausted by the negative experience.
But it turned out ours was only 6 lines, and better yet, only 8 dollars!
We arrived at a large facility that turned out to be the weekend home for an Ecuadorian family. Imagine having a mountain chalet with its own tennis/volleyball/basketball court, trampoline, bar and canteen.
We met Nico and Edwin, our guides who spoke very little English but were very patient with us.
Our group turned out to be the three of us and a family of 5 including three girls under age 12. They went first and it was very difficult to be scared.
But as it turned out the first two lines are easy to get used to the feeling of braking before they put you on the long 100-350m lines.
I thought my mother would be absolutely petrified but on the first zipline she didn’t even scream.
My sister turned out to be the best at ziplining, to the point where Nico wanted her to do some advanced moves such as the superman and bouncing on the cable.
I have never been ziplining and wanted to wait it for when my family visited. I was a bit scared but as the most dominant personality I refused to show fear. Unfortunately I hadn’t learned the art of slowing down so you can see me barreling in here:
It turned out that 6 ziplines were the perfect amount for us, we were able to zip over amazing views in the jungle but it wasn’t too scary or last too long.
Okay you officially have THE coolest Mom in the world! My Mom would NEVER do this. AWESOME!!!!!! I did this in Cuba and had the best time. 🙂
Go mom! I’m pretty sure my mom would sit out something like this these days. She went canyoning with my sister and I about 10 years ago in Interlaken and no one else on our tour could believe a mom would do that! I didn’t believe she’d make it, honestly. Looking back, I give her even more credit now, since the older I get, the wimpier I am when it comes to these kinds of things!
Looks like a fantastic time. The only time I ever went ziplining was at summer camp when I was 10.
Wow,that looked like a great time.I think I would like to do that someday!Do you think it will ever happen in little ole Merlin? NO!!!!
Ditto what Andi said, your mom’s the coolest!!! What a super fun family thing to do. Looks like it was a great time!!
I miss Latin America, please eat some beans + rice with vigor for me! 🙂
My mother is pretty cool but we did not give choice in zip lining. She was told she had to do it…but still am very proud of her!
Your mom’s a braver woman than mine! I tried to get her to do a zipline in South Africa with me last spring, and she looked at me as if I said Christ had his second coming and returned to Earth as Sarah Palin!
I did wonder a time or two about how often safety inspections are done but when would I ever be crazy enough to do this again……
Hey! We did this in New Zealand in a cave!
However it was only 1 short line:)
@Jacob
Yes I remember this as I was screaming in the dark. This was a little less frightening.
Awesome! I agree with Andi! not a chance my mum would ever consider this!